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Cyclist's helmet-cam video of argument with driver shows glory of humanity

Technically Incorrect: A Seattle cyclist is miffed that a woman has parked in a bike lane. He posts a helmet-cam video to YouTube, where many have watched. But who comes out of it better?

Chris Matyszczyk
2 min read

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.


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The lady is for parking, and not for turning. GhostOfStarmanSuper; YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

The supreme Justice Judy Sheindlin has shown us that instead of the cumbersome process of the courthouse, justice can be secured on camera.

So humans have increasingly attempted to garner support from the public jury of the hive mind by posting their problems to YouTube.

One such video that's caught my eye and made my teeth chatter involves a Seattle cyclist and a motorist.

The cyclist -- handle GhostOfStarmanSuper -- felt aggrieved because a woman had parked her car in a bike lane. Seattle has designed certain bike lanes that don't allow cars to be parked within them. Instead, cars are supposed to park to the left of the lane.

Watch this: Fusar Smart Helmet system puts safety first

One can imagine that this might be confusing to some. Still, on espying this lady, the cyclist immediately offers his opprobrium.

He sounds like a policeman. "Is this your car?" he asks. When he tells her that she's parked in the bike lane, the woman explains that she's just run into a nearby building. As he begins to counter that she's in the wrong, she offers that she really doesn't care.

"You're blocking through-traffic. You do this again and I'm calling the cops. Get out of here," counters the Ghost, oddly enough sounding like a cop himself.

The woman calls him ridiculous. He orders her not to keep blocking traffic. She insists that she didn't do it on purpose. Then a passerby joins in and suggests that the Ghost is the very reason why "car drivers do not like bicycles."

The first lady suggests that the Ghost should try therapy.

This isn't the first time the Ghost has posted videos of, to him, miscreant drivers. His YouTube account has a few. I have contacted him to ask whether he feels that he needed to be quite so, well, authoritative. I will update, should I hear.

There are times when bikers are so astonished at drivers' behavior that their videos even attract the police's attention. In this case, the local Fox TV station has already featured the video.

And so, dear members of the online jury, did this video enhance the cyclist's cause? Or does he come across as a sanctimonious pen-nib?

I fear some wars have started with arguments just like this one.